Friday, March 13, 2015

Dream Wedding Contest

As for my last post just rambling on about my dream wedding, decor and ideas but leaving out the photos I mentioned and making it all seem rather cryptic I want to let you know that wasn't my intention. I entered a pinterest contest and since pinterest only allows you to have 500 characters on the top of the page, blog to the rescue to fill in the blanks. Anywho I wanted to share the contest because theres still time to enter (March 19th is the deadline). Search Davids Bridal Contest on pinterest and it'll pop right up. In fact I've come across it a few times but then again I follow Loverly, DB, Bright Pink and Melissa Sweet who are holding this contest haha. The prizes which are in 3 catagories will grant the winners $10,000 each for the best designed weddings with their own specific requests. The rules are simple and what they are looking for just takes some creativity and wedding world love. It's worth a try, take a look!

Thursday, March 12, 2015

My Dream Wedding

First of all if you came to read this long thing THANK YOU for taking the time to do so I put a lot of thought and effort into my dream wedding. Not only is it the wedding I've been dreaming of since I was 10 years old but it's the wedding I can virtually see happening now. I have in fact found a venue that matches every aspect of what I've shown here (not far from my home actually in South Central Pennsylvania). From the style to the venue to the colors and decor I have figured out every square inch of the design with the help of my love. Honestly we even have a rainy day plan but it changes some of the elements of the day so I decided to leave it off the actual 'dream board'. We actually had very similar dreams of the big day and we combined them in fun and beautiful ways. We had to put more thought into things than most because he is in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the chest down. Many years ago during an attempted robbery of his home he was shot in the spine and this has been an adjustment in every way. So when planning and organizing such a big event where all eyes are on the bride and groom comfort became key. We had to ditch the head table for a sweetheart table for him to move freely but we added some special ideas to that small table to keep the grand feeling. We wanted a day of love and fun for our families and friends so we added lawn games to keep the cocktail hour from being anything but memorable. In adding lawn games we chose fun, unique but wheelchair accessible ideas so every single person gets the chance to enjoy. As for the key elements of the day the pictures explain it all (with small captions under each for any alterations I'd make because some ideas just have to be created not found online). We also wanted to add just a few more personal touches, we have a 10 year old son so we wanted a unity ceremony all 3 of us could be a part of. We were high school sweethearts so we thought we'd add that element to the day and the few photos of grooms in wheelchairs so we could get ideas for some of the more traditional photos and how we could find the most comfortable poses.
As far as the overall decor and feeling we just wanted something different, fun, beautiful and inspiring. We chose the light pink, peach, gold because they really dressed up the ideas we had for a beautiful garden decorated like any other amazing party, complete with chandeliers!
The whole wedding, any wedding has always revolved around the love and union of the couple but everyone knows it's also all about the dress. For me this was a piece of cake choice, I knew exactly what I would want to wear. Such a beautifully decorated garden needed such a beautifully crafted dress. Melissa Sweets corded lace trumpet gown was absolutely perfect. Stylish, unique, fun, you could move around in it but still look flawless. The dress is so perfect in fact if you had to plan a wedding inspired by this dress alone I'd say this is that wedding. This dress is elegant on every level. When I see this dress I can close my eyes and see beautiful gardens full of blooming flowers, chandeliers hanging from trees, a bouquet to compliment the dress full of soft pink and white flowers. I even found the makeup, jewelry, shoes and hairstyle to best compliment this dress.
 It was very important to my love that he honor his brother and cousin who died both within the last 2 years so the idea of having their framed photos nailed to a tree where everyone could see them was the easiest decision yet.
For our bridal party there would be 3 flower girls, 2 of my nieces and the grooms baby sister. There also would be no ring bearer, our son who would be the best man would keep the rings safe to show his part in the wedding is crucial. Standing on each side of us would be our5 bridesmaids and groomsmen, as you can see from the photos the bridesmaids would be dressed in a beautiful peachy pink and the groom and his groomsmen would be in grey. The bouquets would be white, the bouts would also be white. The flowergirls would carry kissing balls they just for something a little different and because the aisle would already be decorated with petals.
The vows would be handwritten and personal the ceremony would be short but sweet. We'd be united under a large arbor in front of everyone we hold dear. After the ceremony we'd have a bar with pink signature drinks and champagne for the adults and pink lemonade for the younger crowd. We'd have a lemonade station and a rolling bar for the game area (which would include croquet, giant jenga, lawn scrabble and cornhole) as well as a full bar and appetizers set up with a few tables to just talk and take in the day. At the request of our son we'd have the ever classic chocolate covered strawberries but with a pink twist! There would also be tree swings placed throughout the area for comfort and enjoyment. Along with the games the snacks and the drinks we'd also have a very unique take on the photo booth. Instead of bringing a large machine into a natural setting we'd use the beauty of the surroundings to our advantage. Bringing in an antique love seat, hanging a frame from a tree overhead and setting up a photographer to snap the photos we're sure the guests would love it. We'd have a print out for each guest but a digital copy sent to us so we could remember everyones smiling faces!
During this time guests could also sign the large wooden monogram which would serve as our guestbook, after the wedding we would hang this in our home so we can look at it each day and remember all the people who love us as we love them.
For the reception we'd have tables set up under the trees with chandeliers overhead too keep the party going into the night. A dance floor put in the center to keep everyone having a great time! We found toasting flutes and a cake cutting set that match everything beautifully and we could use and display for all our years to come. The dinner (which I also posted) would be something light enough for a night of fun but filling enough to keep everyone happy. Baked lemon garlic chicken, salad, roasted potatoes, carrots stuffed shells as a vegitarian option and of course wedding cake! The cake would be covered in the same flowers decorating the venue and in the bouquets. The cake topper which we both took a lot of time trying to find would sit amoung the flowers. The cake topper which can be seen below is very special, to find a groom seated with a bride was a challenge and to find one with so much emotion behind it felt like it was meant to be ours, to be us.
 On each table would be the beautiful centerpieces I found below and the amazing gold table numbers also found below. We'd have candles to keep things bright and each guest would get a favor which would be found at the seat. To find their seat each escort card would be found pinned to a garden gate. The favors keeping with the garden theme would be skeleton key bottle openers, because who couldn't use a bottle opener to throw in the kitchen drawer?
 I added a few decor elemets a few neat signs like the menu board we'd use instead of wasting paper and even the traditional something old/ new/ borrowed/ blue. We even picked out the perfect getaway car and a garder that matched the lovliness of the dress. We have the details locked down to even the invitations. This is our dream wedding and I am grateful for the chance to create and share it even if we aren't selected to be one of the winners. I hope you enjoyed looking it over as much as we enjoyed putting it together. Thank you!